Teething is the process by which an infant's first teeth emerge through the gums. The first teeth typically appear between six and nine months, however teething may start as early as three months or as late as twelve months. When an infant begins teething, there is no set pattern as to when it will begin, how long it will take or how painful it will be. For some infants, the process is relatively quick and without pain, while others go through a long, drawn out and painful teething experience.
Common symptoms include drooling or dribbling, mood changes, irritability or crankiness, and swollen gums. Babies who are experiencing some pain and swelling may begin chewing on their fingers or toys to help relieve pressure on their gums. Babies who are experiencing severe discomfort may chew or bite on their fingers, thumbs or hands hard enough to cause redness, swelling, and even bleeding, which may add to the discomfort.
A common solution is to offer the baby a teething ring or toy which is typically a soft plastic device that can be chewed on and allows the baby to break down some of the gum tissue and to promote the growth of the teeth out of the gum. It also allows some relief from the pressure and pain that some babies experience. Some examples of teething devices are U.S. Design Pat. No. D697274; Canadian Patent App. Nos. 2719930 and 2508210; and U.S. Pub. Nos. 2013304121 and 20130085530. Some teething rings however, can easily become broken or damaged while other poorly-designed toys may be small enough for a child to swallow or choke on. Others are difficult for a baby to hold or pick up when they want to begin chewing, necessitating an adult to repeatedly pass the toy to the baby after it slips away from the baby, or for a new toy if the first one drops on the floor and is dirtied or lost. Others teething aids, such as U.S. Pub. No. 2013245687, involve a cover placed over an adult finger or on an adult hand, which again requires an adult to assist the baby.
Teething mittens, such as those shown in U.S. Design Pat. No. D509628, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,993,285, 5,385,573, and 2,586,608; U.S. Pub. Nos. 20060004412 and 20050222621; GB Pub. No. 2417426; and Japanese Pub. No. 2006291433, have also been used. These of course provide autonomy to the infant because they are secured directly to the infant's body; however during the course of chewing some babies exert painful sharp or biting pressure on the hand, causing further discomfort to the baby. Further, some of the designs are relatively uninteresting to the baby. In addition, the teething portions of the mittens are an integral part of the mitten. The teething portions would tend to interfere with simple protection of the infant's hands, in order, for example, to protect the baby from scratching its face; to prevent the baby from germs when crawling or travelling; or simply to keep the baby's hands warm in winter, without falling off. Accordingly it may not be desirable to use such teething mittens until the baby is actually teething and begins chewing things to relieve the discomfort.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a teething mitten that overcomes the foregoing disadvantages.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a teething mitten that includes the ability to allow a baby to chew the mitten comfortably, to relieve the pain and stress of teething without causing further pain or discomfort to the baby's fingers, thumb and hand.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a teething mitten that may be used both before and during the teething phases of a baby's development, providing aspects that are interesting to the baby as well as useful and protective before and during teething.
These and other objects of the invention will be better understood by reference to the detailed description of the preferred embodiment which follows. Note that the objects referred to above are statements of what motivated the invention rather than promises. Not all of the objects are necessarily met by all embodiments of the invention described below or by the invention defined by each of the claims.